Outraged residents of Utah suburb where average house costs $1.2m rail against gigantic proposed property tax hike

Residents of an affluent Utah community are furious over a proposal to dramatically raise property taxes just months after their new city was formed.

Ogden Valley homeowners packed a city council meeting Tuesday night to protest a plan that would increase the city's budgeted property tax revenue by 512.61 percent, according to ABC4.

The increase would bring in an additional $2.48 million a year.

For a home worth the area's average $1.222 million, the city portion of the annual property tax bill would rise from $104.85 to $640.51 - an increase of $535.66.

A business worth the same amount would see its annual city tax jump from $190.63 to $1,164.57, ABC4 reported.

The 512.61 percent figure refers to the increase in the city's property tax revenue, not a 512.61 percent increase in homeowners' total property tax bills.

The proposal has particularly angered residents because they voted to create Ogden Valley City after being told it could support itself without raising taxes.

Nearly 68 percent of voters backed incorporation in November 2024, according to KSL, and the city officially formed on January 2.

Ahead of the vote, an independent feasibility study commissioned through the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office projected the city could maintain services with at least a five percent budget surplus and would not need an additional property tax levy.

The campaign supporting incorporation was even more explicit, telling voters: 'Let's be clear: incorporation will not raise taxes.'

Supporters said the city could instead tap revenue from short-term rental taxes, grants and impact fees 'without raising our taxes.'

But officials now say the financial outlook has changed.

The city said the feasibility study relied on post-COVID sales tax growth of around nine percent, while actual growth has fallen below four percent. Officials have also blamed inflation and higher operating costs.

Financial advisers now estimate Ogden Valley faces a $1.25 million shortfall between 2026 and 2028, according to the city's website.

Mayor Janet Wampler said officials had spent months discussing the budget, including at an unofficial Truth in Taxation meeting in June, ABC4 reported.

Officials warn that without the increase, the city could impose a transportation utility fee, delay municipal work and cut road funding.

They have also stressed that Ogden Valley's tax rate would still remain lower than the 2025 rates in seven other Weber County cities, including Ogden, Roy and Washington Terrace.

But residents at Tuesday's meeting were unconvinced.

'The problem is this is a fantasy built on a faulty foundation,' one resident of 64 years said, according to ABC4.

'Ogden Valley was set up, as I understand it, to ensure a new incorporation could stand on its own for years without a tax increase and without a cut in services.'

Another resident accused officials of creating 'a situation of double taxation' by charging residents more for services previously provided by Weber County.

'I think there's things being covered up,' the resident said. 'I didn't vote for this.'

One resident even urged officials to seek another feasibility study and potentially put incorporation back before voters.

'It would be cheaper for us to fund another feasibility study ourselves, just passing around the tip jar, than to pay this increase,' the resident said.

The dispute is further complicated by a legal battle over whether the new city can levy its own property taxes this year.

Ogden Valley's incorporation certificate was issued January 2 - one day after the cutoff under Utah State Tax Commission rules.

The city sued the commission in June but Third District Judge Todd Shaughnessy ruled in July that the rule was constitutional, according to KUER.

Unless that decision is overturned on appeal, residents will continue paying property taxes to Weber County, which will pass the city's share to Ogden Valley.

The city has said it intends to appeal.

There were also warnings before incorporation that the financial projections could change.

Weber County said in 2024 that while it provided historical data for the feasibility study, it had not 'verified, substantiated, or corroborated' its projections.

A separate Utah Foundation analysis warned that slower growth or lower-than-expected revenue could eventually force the city to raise taxes, introduce fees or cut services.

Ogden Valley City has not yet voted to approve or reject the proposed increase.